Strigidae
Уулийнхан
uuliŋkhaŋ

General

This list should be regarded as being 'in beta'. Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Many Kazakh, Turkish, and Korean glosses are highly tentative. Comments and corrections welcome.

Unlike English, Mongolian has a range of words referring to the owls, but the precise referents can be hard to pin down.

The general word for 'owl' is Шар шувуу shar shuvuu meaning 'yellow bird', but most typically refers to the Eagle Owl. Owls with ears are known as Ууль uul' (also Ууль шувуу uul' shuvuu 'owl bird'). Mongolian also has the term Ариан ariaŋ, which appears to have originally meant owl in general, similar to Ууль uul'.

The word Бэгбаатар begbaatar is another commonly used name for certain types of owl, ranging from the Short-eared Owl to the Wood Owls to the Hawk Owls. The meaning of бэг beg is unclear (it is found only in this name), but баатар baatar means 'hero' and is a common component of men's names in Mongolia.

The Scops Owls are known as Орволго orovlog (or Улаавар орволго ulaavar orovlog 'reddish orovlog').

Холслог kholslog and Яваг шар шувуу yavag shar shuvuu 'yavag yellow bird' are names applied to eared owls.

Names for smaller owls include:

• Бүгээхэй bügeekhei for very small species in general.
• Гуйванга guivaŋg or Гуйванг guivaŋg (also Гуйвангуу guivaŋguu) for large and small eared owls (by one source described as small owls living in marshy areas).
• Сүлиг sülig for the pygmy owls.

Явлиг yavlig or Явлаг yavlag (also Явлаг шувуу yavlag shuvuu 'yavlag bird') is another term for a smaller kind of owl, sometimes found in the combination Явлаг ууль yavlag uul' ('yavlag owl'). Mostaert's Dictionnaire Ordos says that this owl has a very 'heavy walk'. However, the name Явлаг yavlag is also applied to some diurnal raptors, notably the Osprey, being found in names like Явлаг галуу yavlag galuu ('yavlag goose', the Osprey), Явлаг сар yavlag sar ('yavlag buzzard', also the Osprey), and Явлаг элээ yavlag elee (literally 'yavlag kite', identity unclear, possibly also the Osprey).

A less auspicious name for owls is Үхээр шувуу ükheer shuvuu 'cadaver bird' or Үхээрийн шувуу ükheeriŋ shuvuu 'cadaver bird' owing to a traditional association with death.

Buryat words for owls include Уули uuli and Бэгсэргэ begserge.

Regularised names:

The official usage of names for strigid genera is as shown below, with old naming and regularised naming (post-2007) shown together for comparison:

Genus	Old	New
Otus (Scops Owls)	Орволго orovlog	Орволго orovlog
Nyctea (Snowy Owl)	Ууль uul'	Уульж uul'j
Bubo (Eagle Owl)	Шар шувуу shar shuvuu	Шаршувуу shar-shuvuu
Strix (Wood Owls)	Бэгбаатар begbaatar	Ууль uul'
Surnia (Hawk Owls)	Ууль uul'	Bэгбаатар begbaatar
Glaucidium (Pygmy Owls)	Бүгээхэй bügeekhei	Cүилг süilg
Athene (Little Owl)	Бүгээхэй bügeekhei	Бүгээхэй bügeekhei
Aegolius (Boreal Owl)	Ууль uul'	Ариан ariaŋ
Asio (Long-eared/Short-eared Owl)	Ууль uul'	Гуйванга guivaŋg

In choosing one name for each genus, the 2007 names make a number of changes, several of which are quite confusing.

Those types of owl formerly called Ууль uul' have now been split among Уульж uul'j (Snowy Owl), Bэгбаатар begbaatar (Hawk Owls), Ариан ariaŋ (Boreal Owl), and Гуйванга guivaŋg (Asio). Apart from Уульж uul'j, most of these are existing names found in standard dictionaries.

On the other hand, the Wood Owls, which were formerly called Бэгбаатар begbaatar, have now been given exclusive rights to the name Ууль uul'.

After this game of musical chairs, we find that the Wood Owls and the Hawk Owls have actually swapped names.

The term Бүгээхэй bügeekhei, formerly applied to several types of Pygmy Owl and Small Owl, is now restricted to the genus Athene, and the term Cүлиг sülig introduced for Glaucidium.

One final problem with the strict application of 'one genus, one name' is that of Nyctea scandiaca, now classed as Bubo. Presumably the Snowy Owl will have to be renamed the Цагаан шаршувуу tsagaaŋ shar-shuvuu, or 'white yellow-bird' when this reassignment is recognised. The previous name, Цэвдгийн ууль tsevdgiŋ uul' 'tundra owl', would probably have been better.

Species names

STRIGINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN MONGOLIAN EAST ASIAN TURKIC Otus                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Otus scops Eurasian scops owl Eurasian scops-owl or Common scops-owl Scops owl European scops owl Сплюшка, Обыкновенная совка Ердийн орволго ᠶᠡᠷᠣᠳᠠ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠣᠷᠪᠣᠯᠭ᠎ᠠ  yordiŋ orovlog 'common scopsowl' Орволго ᠣᠷᠪᠣᠯᠭ᠎ᠠ  orovlog 'scopsowl' 西红角鸮 (西紅角鴞) xī hóng jiǎo-xiāo 'western red horned-owl' (2, 4) 红角鸮 (紅角鴞) hóng jiǎo-xiāo 'red horned-owl' (3) Taxonomy ヨーロッパコノハズク (ヨーロッパ木の葉木菟) yōroppa ko-no-ha zuku 'European tree-leaf zuku' (some sources)   Маубас жапалақ mawbas japalaq 'listless owl' İshakkuşu 'Isaac ? bird' Otus sunia Oriental scops owl Oriental scops-owl Уссурийския совка Ойн орволго ᠣᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠣᠷᠪᠣᠯᠭ᠎ᠠ  oiŋ orovlog 'forest scopsowl'   红角鸮 (紅角鴞) hóng jiǎo-xiāo 'red horned-owl' (1, 2, 4, 5) 东方角鸮 (東方角鴞) dōngfāng jiǎo-xiāo 'eastern horned-owl' (3) Taiwan: (东方角鸮) 東方角鴞 dōngfāng jiǎo-xiāo 'eastern horned-owl' Taiwan former official: (角鸮) 角鴞 jiǎo-xiāo 'horned-owl' コノハズク (木の葉木菟) ko-no-ha zuku 'tree-leaf zuku' 소쩍새 sojjeok-sae 'sojjeok bird'     Nyctea                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Nyctea scandiaca Taxonomy Snowy owl Белая сова, Полярная сова Цагаан уульж ᠴᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢᠵᠢ (?) tsagaaŋ uul'j 'white owl (variant)' Цэвдгийн ууль ᠴᠡᠪᠲᠡᠭ ᠦᠨ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ  tsevdgiŋ uul' 'tundra owl' 雪鸮 (雪鴞) xuě-xiāo 'snow owl' シロフクロウ (白梟) shiro-fukurō 'white owl' 흰올빼미 huin-olppaemi 'white owl' Ақ жапалақ aq japalaq 'white owl'   Bubo                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Bubo bubo Eurasian eagle-owl Northern eagle owl Eagle owl Great Eagle Owl Филин, Обыкновенный филин Эгэл шаршувуу ᠡᠬᠡᠯ ᠰᠢᠷ᠎ᠠ ᠰᠢᠪᠠᠭᠣ egel shar-shuvuu 'common yellow-bird' Шар шувуу ᠰᠢᠷ᠎ᠠ ᠰᠢᠪᠠᠭᠣ shar shuvuu 'yellow bird' 鵰鸮 (鵰鴞) diāo-xiāo 'eagle-owl' ワシミミズク (鷲木菟) washi mimi-zuku 'eagle eared-zuku' 수리부엉이 suri-bueongi 'eagle bueongi' Үкі üki 'eagleowl' Puhu 'owl' Strix                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Strix uralensis Ural owl Ural wood owl Длиннохвостая неясыть, Уралская неясыть Хув ууль ᠬᠣᠪᠣ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ huv uul' 'earless owl' Хув бэгбаатар ᠬᠣᠪᠣ ᠪᠡᠭ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠣᠷ huv begbaatar 'earless beg-baatar' (baatar 'hero' = man's name) 长尾林鸮 (長尾林鴞) cháng-wěi lín-xiāo 'long-tailed forest-owl' フクロウ (梟) fukurō 'owl' 긴점박이올빼미 gin-jeombagi-olppaemi 'long dappled owl' Кезқұйрық жапалақ kez-quyrıq japalaq 'long-tailed owl'   Strix nebulosa Great grey owl Dark wood owl Бородатая неясыть Угалзан ууль ᠣᠭᠠᠯᠵᠠᠨ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ ugalzaŋ uul' 'spiral-pattern owl' Угалзан бэгбаатар ᠣᠭᠠᠯᠵᠠᠨ ᠪᠡᠭ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠣᠷ ugalzaŋ begbaatar 'spiral-pattern beg-baatar' (baatar 'hero' = man's name) 乌林鸮 (烏林鴞) wū lín-xiāo 'dark forest-owl' カラフトフクロウ (樺太梟) karafuto fukurō 'Sakhalin owl'   Сақалды жапалақ saqaldı japalaq 'bearded owl'

SURNIINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN MONGOLIAN EAST ASIAN TURKIC Surnia                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Surnia ulala Northern hawk-owl Northern hawk owl Hawk owl Ястребинная сова Харсуун бэгбаатар ᠬᠠᠷᠠᠰᠣᠨ (?) ᠪᠡᠭ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠣᠷ kharsuuŋ begbaatar 'kharsuun beg-baatar' (baatar 'hero' = man's name) Харсуун ууль ᠬᠠᠷᠠᠰᠣᠨ (?) ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ kharsuuŋ uul' 'kharsuun owl' 猛鸮 (猛鴞) měng xiāo 'fierce owl' オナガフクロウ (尾長梟) o-naga fukurō 'long-tailed owl' 긴꼬리올빼미 gin-kkori-olppaemi 'long-tailed owl' Қыршаға жапалақ qırşağa japalaq 'qırşağa owl'   Glaucidium                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Glaucidium passerinum Eurasian pygmy owl Eurasian pygmy-owl Pygmy owl Pygmy owlet Воробьиный сычик Буслаг сүлиг ᠪᠣᠰᠯᠢᠭ ᠰᠦᠯᠢᠭ᠌ buslag sülig 'buslag sülig' Дорнодын бүгээхэй ᠲᠣᠷᠣᠨᠠᠳᠣ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠪᠦᠬᠡᠬᠡᠬᠡᠢ dornodiŋ bügeekhei 'eastern owlet' Other: Буслаг бүгээхэй ᠪᠣᠰᠯᠢᠭ ᠪᠦᠬᠡᠬᠡᠬᠡᠢ buslag bügeekhei 'buslag owlet' 花头鸺鹠 (花頭鸺鹠) huā-tóu xiū-liú 'flower-headed owlet' (1, 2, 3, 4) 花头侏鸺鹠 (花頭侏鸺鹠) huā-tóu zhū xiū-liú 'flower-headed pygmy owlet' (5) スズメフクロウ (雀梟) suzume fukurō 'sparrow owl'   Байғызша bayğızşa 'owlet-sha ?? '   Athene                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Athene noctua Athene noctus Little owl Домовый сыч, Обыкновенный домовый сыч Хотны бүгээхэй ᠬᠣᠲᠣᠨ ᠤ ᠪᠦᠬᠡᠬᠡᠬᠡᠢ khotni bügeekhei 'livestock-pen? owlet' Хотны бүгээхэй ᠬᠣᠲᠣᠨ ᠤ ᠪᠦᠬᠡᠬᠡᠬᠡᠢ khotni bügeekhei 'livestock-pen? owlet' 纵纹腹小鸮 (縱紋腹小鴞) zòng-wén-fù xiǎo-xiāo 'vertical-pattern-bellied small owl' Taiwan: (纵纹腹小鸮) 縱紋腹小鴞 zòng-wén-fù xiǎo-xiāo 'vertical-pattern-bellied small owl' コキンメフクロウ (小金目梟) ko kin-me fukurō 'small golden-eyed owl' 금눈쇠올빼미 geum-nun-soe-olppaemi 'gold-eyed small owl' Байғыз bayğız 'owlet' Kukumav 'owlet' Aegolius                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Aegolius funereus Boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl Мохноногий сыч Савагт ариан ᠰᠠᠪᠠᠭᠲᠣ ᠠᠷᠢᠶᠠᠨ savagt ariaŋ 'yak-throat-haired ?? ariaŋ' Савагт ууль ᠰᠠᠪᠠᠭᠲᠣ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ savagt uul' 'yak-throat-haired ?? owl' 鬼鸮 (鬼鴞) guǐ xiāo 'demon owl' キンメフクロウ (金目梟) kin-me fukurō 'gold-eyed owl'   Орман байғызы orman bayğızı 'forest owlet' Paçalı Baykuş 'shaggy-legged sir ? bird'

ASIONINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN MONGOLIAN EAST ASIAN TURKIC Asio                 Latin English/Russian Mongolian Former & Other M Chinese (incl. Taiwan) Japanese Korean Kazakh Turkish Asio otus Long-eared owl Ушастая сова Соотон гуйванга ᠰᠣᠭᠣᠲᠣᠩ ᠭᠣᠢᠢᠪᠢᠩᠭᠣ sootoŋ guivaŋg 'sharp-eared guivang' Явлиг ууль ᠶᠠᠪᠠᠯᠠᠭ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ yavlig uul' 'yavlig owl' Other: Явлиг ᠶᠠᠪᠠᠯᠠᠭ yavlig 'yavlig' Явлаг ууль ᠶᠠᠪᠠᠯᠠᠭ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ yavlag uul' 'yavlag owl' 长耳鸮 (長耳鴞) cháng-ěr xiāo 'long-eared owl' Taiwan: (长耳鸮) 長耳鴞 cháng-ěr xiāo 'long-eared owl' トラフズク (虎斑木菟) tora-fu zuku 'tiger-striped zuku' 칡부엉이 chirk-bueongi 'arrowroot (kudzu?) bueongi' Құлақты жапалақ qulaqtı japalaq 'eared owl' Kulaklı Orman Baykuşu 'eared forest sir ? bird' Asio flammeus Short-eared owl Болотная сова Хулгар гуйванга ᠬᠣᠯᠣᠭᠠᠷ ᠭᠣᠢᠢᠪᠢᠩᠭᠣ khulgar guivaŋg 'short-eared guivang' Гуйвангуу ууль ᠭᠣᠢᠢᠪᠢᠩᠭᠣ ᠣᠭᠣᠯᠢ guivaŋguu uul' 'guivanguu owl' Other: Гуйвангуу ᠭᠣᠢᠢᠪᠢᠩᠭᠣ guivaŋguu 'guivanguu' 短耳鸮 (短耳鴞) duǎn-ěr xiāo 'short-eared owl' Taiwan: (短耳鸮) 短耳鴞 duǎn-ěr xiāo 'short-eared owl' コミミズク (小木菟) ko mimi-zuku 'small eared-zuku' 쇠부엉이 soe-bueongi 'small bueongi' Саз жапалақ saz japalaq 'marsh owl' Kır Baykuşu 'greyish sir ? bird'